Everyone has some kind of contact with others in some way. This contact may be significant in the eye of one and menial in the eye of another. Sometimes people’s actions are for others profit and sometimes things are done solely for the benefit of oneself. Someone who does too much for his or herself is seen as greedy or self-indulged.

How do we measure the success of a lifetime? Do we relate a life to the choices the individual made, or do we relate a life to others’ choices? How can we label someone as being successful and having a “worth-while” lifetime?

How do we compare the lives of a impoverished 92 year-old woman with 35 great-grandchildren, 12 grandchildren, and 4 children of her own to an 85 year-old woman retired CEO with full benefits living a plush life?

We can say that the retired CEO has impacted many lives during her times in higher management for her company by making business relationships. She has not had to worry about financial strains or day-to-day costs due to her income. Does this make her life successful?

We can also say that the impoverished 92 year-old woman has impacted many lives as well with relationships created with her extended family. This woman may have influenced her children, grand-children, and great-grand-children to set life goals for themselves and may have provided inspiration that cannot be found anywhere besides her words and heart. Does this make her life successful?

Comparing individuals’ lives cannot give us answers when attempting to figure out the accomplishments and their impact on the world around us. I think the best route to take when coming upon this question is to weigh your own experiences with what you have control over changing. Realize that every-day actions can impact others in their own attitudes and actions. When in doubt, offer your opinions, they might be the greatest ideas ever spoken, but in silence, they have no value.

I think this quote from Charlotte’s Web describes a lot of the issues we talked about in class about relationships and how we become ourselves through the eyes of others.


“You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die. A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that.” - E. B. White